Thanksgiving is one of the biggest holidays in the US and Canada and everyone has their own little traditions for this special day. If you’re an active person, you should really try to stay fit this Thanksgiving and look forward to adding some healthy traditions to your lifestyle.

Overeating on Thanksgiving is seen like something normal by many and that should scare us. Eating too much one day can damage your weight loss journey or your active lifestyle. It’s up to you not to fall off track and stay healthy no matter what. You might say this is a little bit extreme but when you take a look around us and see all the added substances to our food, the pollution and lack of exercise, you might just change your opinion.

How much food is “too much” on Thanksgiving?

What’s too much for someone could be a regular meal for someone else but as a general rule, you should listen to your body. Don’t eat until you feel full since your body sends out this signal with a certain delay. Another important thing is to always have a generous side of vegetables on your plate.

If you’re wondering how much food is too much, compare it to how much exercise you’ll need to make so you can burn off the extra calories. Here’s a great infographic from Daily Burn to help you measure everything.

How to Stay fit this Thanksgiving by adding Healthy Traditions

Every family has its traditions for Thanksgiving but that doesn’t mean you can’t add more to the “family plate”. If you want your kids to have a healthy lifestyle you should try and teach them about healthy traditions. Here are some fun and healthy traditions you can try.

Get your kids involved.

Thanksgiving shouldn’t be all about food, you should add some fun traditions for the whole family. For example, ask your kids to help you in the kitchen. They don’t have to help you make all the food. You can pick one healthy recipe to make with their help. By doing this, they’ll know how to cook something healthy and will remember to do it for years to come.

Always eat your breakfast on Thanksgiving day.

It’s not a good idea to skip breakfast, ever. This is more true on holidays when we like to save room for big meals. We don’t realize the toll this takes on our bodies. A good breakfast doesn’t only get you fed but it also gives you energy for the busy day. If you’re going to skip breakfast then eat a lot for Thanksgiving, you’re going to have a bad time with your family since you’ll be tired all the time.

Stay active.

Let’s say you can’t go to the gym or go out for a run on Thanksgiving and that’s perfectly normal. Does this mean you shouldn’t make any other healthy activities? No! When time allows it (it may be in the morning or after the guests leave), go out for a nice stroll around your neighborhood or take it one step further and create a healthy tradition of visiting a special place with your family.

If you’d like to work out alone, you can do that at home. Just take out your Door Gym and exercise at home.

Don’t make it all about the food.

Go out and pick some pine cones or boughs, get some scented candles and place them around the house. On Thanksgiving you shouldn’t only satisfy your hunger, you have other senses like your smell and sight.